AMONG the mourners carrying posters and coffin of Kashmir’s veteran leader on the regulated stretch of Old Srinagar Tuesday were some sentimental schoolboys.
Those young pallbearers raised faint cries of faith and shed tears in silence for the man whose demise was personal to many of them.
“These schoolchildren are Maulana Muhammad Abbas Ansari’s torchbearers,” said Mustafa Ali, a teacher from Budgam. “He wasn’t merely a political or spiritual leader, but a luminary whose thrust on education uplifted masses and produced some finest professionals.”
In a first daytime funeral procession post abrogation of Article 370, the presence of these schoolchildren made the patron’s passage a collective bereavement in Kashmir.
As the procession moved from Nawa Kadal towards his resting place at Zadibal under the sharp gaze of police force, oral historian and socio-cultural researcher Ilyas Rizvi showed up as a mourner.
“I couldn’t stop myself from paying obeisance to a multi-dimensional personality,” said Rizvi, following thousands of mourners under the warm October sun. “His educational campaign empowered less privileged masses who were grappling with an unjust system in the valley.”
Maulana’s most important role, Ilyas said, was his foundation of a chain of schools named Madina Public Schools.
“Those schools have illuminated hundreds of candles in those pockets of Kashmir where poverty and backwardness has kept people in darkness,” he said.
“These schools have changed the educational landscape of vast areas of North and Central Kashmir. The contemporary history of Kashmir is incomplete without a chapter on him.”
Earlier, as the news of the revered cleric’s demise spread, a pall of gloom descended on Khanqah-e-Sokhta, a historic place in old Srinagar where Maulana Abbas has lived all his life.
Soon people from all walks of life began pouring in from all across, many recalling the legend of the man who played a pivotal role in unifying Kashmiri Muslims.
“The history of Kashmir is incomplete without Maulana Abbas Ansari,” said Imdad Saqi, a senior journalist.
“Maulana Abbas was the pioneer of Muslim unity in Kashmir who tirelessly worked for the cause of Kashmiri people. He played a crucial role at various stages of Kashmir history in the past six decades and his role in contemporary times has been crucial and important. I feel short of words to describe his stature.”
Popularly known as Molvi Abbas, he was the last surviving politician of the Plebiscite Front era.
An alumni of famous Najaf seminary, Maulana Abbas founded Anjuman-e- Ittehadul Muslimeen after his return from decade-long stay in Iraq in 1962. He rose to a star position during the Moi-Muqaddas movement of the mid sixties.
In 1987 Molvi Abbas became founding convenor of Muslim United Front ( MUF) which changed the political landscape of Kashmir.
He spent years behind bars for his relentless political campaign and penned his autobiography—“Khare Gulistan”—as a political prisoner.
After his release from prison he co founded All Parties Hurriyat Conference. He led several rounds of talks with New Delhi during Atal Behari Vajpayee era as he was a strong proponent of peaceful settlement of Kashmir dispute. However his differences with Pakistan’s approach later led to his ouster from the multiparty combine by the hardline camp.
Molvi Abbas virtually retired from active political life and was mostly engrossed in spiritual pursuits. He has penned scores of books on spiritual aspects of Islam.
“The demise of Abbas sahab is a tragedy for all Kashmiris regardless of sects,” said Maulana Khurshid Ahmad Qanoongu, Imam of Astana Aalya Mirza Kamil Sahab.
“Abbas sahib has been a champion of Muslim unity. Despite many ups and downs in his life, he preached the message of Prophet Muhammad [PBUH] and his Ahlulbait [A.S]. His contribution to Kashmir will be remembered for all times to come,” said Maulana Mir Mustafa.
As thousands of mourners followed his coffin from Khanqahi Sokhta to Zadibal via Eidgah for funeral prayers, the whole town erupted with elegy for the man who touched countless lives during his lifetime.
The sentimental scene only heaved the emotions of the schoolchildren who collectively gave a tearful farewell to their patron.
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